


And Then There Were Three

by Fantasy_Paternal_Guardian



Series: Little!Dads [4]
Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver Craig, Caregiver Hugo, Caregiver Robert, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regressing Damien, Regressing Joseph, Regressing Mat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-07-03 14:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15821181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantasy_Paternal_Guardian/pseuds/Fantasy_Paternal_Guardian
Summary: "Is that a teddy bear? What-" Craig paused, brows furrowed, but then it seemed like he understood. Robert was even more confused. "This is going to sound like an out-of-left-field question, but... Mat, do you regress? Like... Are you little? And Robert's what, your Daddy? Your Papa?"





	1. Chapter 1

"Thanks again, Robert. I don't know what I'd do without you." Craig grinned, adjusting the straps of his backpack. He had a bad termite problem in his attic and had no other choice but to get his house fumigated to get rid of the infestation. So, he turned to Robert for a place to stay in exchange for him cooking the man a hot meal.

 

"No problem, man. Just stay out of the closet, alright?" Robert hummed, glancing a little anxiously to where he kept Mat's little things. He figured that if Craig just caught a peek, he could explain it away as some of Val's old stuff, but if he actually managed to get in there and get a good look at what the contents of the various bins and bags were, he would probably see right through that excuse. 

 

"What's in there, your meth?" Craig snorted, dropping his bag on the bed and crossing his arms.

 

"I'm actually wanted in twenty-two states and Puerto Rico. I'm a master at kiestering pounds and pounds of meth and after a slip in Arizona, the fuzz caught my scent." Cool and collected. Fuck, he didn't want Matty to be pissed at him, and he was sure that that would be what came from Craig finding out about him being little. 

 

"Alright, oldies night. Seriously, though, what are you hiding? You know full well that I'm just going to look in the middle of the night. It's best if you fess up right now to save yourself a lot of embarrassment."

 

"Cahn, I can still kick your ass out on the street. I told you once, don't go in that closet." Just then, his phone buzzed. Mat. Perfect.

 

 _Hey uh I need to come over bc I left my bear and I want to come get it in case I get anxious._ _Hugo has enough on his plate and I don't want to be little when Craig is there_

 

He tapped out a quick  _okay_ and figured that he needed to distract Craig.

 

"How about dinner? I'm hungry as hell."

 

Craig was about halfway done cooking dinner when Mat walked in the door, giving them a little wave. "Hey, dude. I just needed to grab something. I'll get out of your hair here soon." Mat grinned, heading upstairs without another word. 

 

"What did he leave up there?" Craig paused, turning to Robert. "Holy shit- Robert, are you and Mat, like,  _together_? Like, sexually?" He snorted, shaking his head. "Oh my God, this is just too damn good. I've gotta tell the guys about this-"

 

"Craig, it's not like that. It's nothing like that." Robert almost choked on his own words, entirely unsure of what the fuck he was supposed to do. Mat came downstairs, but he didn't notice until he was done talking. "I'm not fucking Mat- That would be disgusting."

 

"You think that Robert and I are  _together_?" Mat raised an eyebrow, biting his lip. "It's not- Robert's like a dad to me." He paused, and Robert noticed his hands shaking a little. He could see the outline of Mat's teddy bear under his sweatshirt and he could see the exhaustion in the younger man's eyes. Of course, Mat, nervous and stressed and anxiety-ridden, wouldn't have thought to bring a bag. He just wanted his teddy. 

 

"Is that a teddy bear? What-" Craig paused, brows furrowed, but then it seemed like he understood. Robert was even more confused. "This is going to sound like an out-of-left-field question, but... Mat, do you regress? Like... Are you little? And Robert's what, your Daddy? Your Papa?"

 

Mat made a soft noise, and after a second he gave a little nod. "Hugo's Daddy. Robert's Papa. I had a Daddy first, but then I got a Papa." His voice was quiet, the sort of thing that Robert associated with him being close to regressing. His poor baby. He could tell that Mat was fighting it with just about everything he had, and that was something that made Robert's heart want to shatter.

 

"That's great, kiddo." Craig, to Robert's surprise, moved towards Mat and took his bear and adjusted it in the boy's arms. "You're very, very lucky to have such a good Daddy and Papa. But you're in no state to go back home by yourself. Is Carmen there?"

 

"N-No. She's with a couple of her friends. She's never at home anymore. My little social butterfly." A little smile came across Mat's lips but Robert  _knew_ what had brought Mat here tonight. He'd gone through the same thing with Val at that age.

 

"Then you're going to stay here. I'm not going to let you go home and be sad all by yourself." Craig's voice was serious and he looked at Mat in a way that Robert had never seen him look at anything before. "I wouldn't want my b- Never mind. I wouldn't want anyone to cry all by themselves. Least of all someone as cute as you." He tapped Mat on the nose, drawing a quiet giggle out of the boy.

 

He gave Matty a gentle push towards Robert, who guided him up into a chair. "Craig's finishing dinner. Do you want me to get you a coloring book while you wait?" He asked softly, kissing the top of Mat's head. He paused before nodding, and Robert headed upstairs. 

 

Hearranged the book and a pack of crayons in front of Matty and left him to color while he talked quietly to Craig. "How did you- How did you know? About Matty?"

 

"You can't tell anybody, but I have two little boys of my own. I'm not going to tell you who they are, because I don't know if they would even want me to, but their signs are really damn close to his." Craig shrugged, stirring the pot and closing his eyes with a small smile. "It's his anxiety, isn't it? That makes him regress?"

 

"Usually. Poor boy. He gets so worked up and this is the only healthy outlet he has for all of that stress. And seeing him finally relax and watch Disney movies and be  _happy_ is so fuckin' worth it." Robert shook his head, looking back at Mat.

 

"I know the feeling." Craig was quiet for a good couple of minutes, until he wasn't. "Alright, dinner's just about done."

 

"Matty, it's time to wash up." Robert hummed, tapping Mat's coloring book to get his attention.

 

"Okay, Papa."


	2. Chapter 2

As much as he hated to admit it, Mat actively avoided answering Hugo or Robert or Craig's texts for most of the following day. He didn't want to talk about being little or about if he was feeling okay. He didn't want to have to even think about it, so he distracted himself in americanos and lattes and soy mocha frappes with a double shots of espresso and extra whip. He was extremely happy to note that no one from the cul-de-sac showed up and that he could just have some fucking peace.

 

He didn't have much of a choice but to talk to them when he was cornered while locking up for the night. There were Hugo and Robert, of course, and Craig, but he was more than a little surprised to see Joseph and Damien there as well. "What's going on?" Mat asked, trying not to sound anxious. "Is- is something wrong?"

 

"You worried me, Matty. You know how nervous I get when you don't answer my texts." Hugo sighed, and Mat flinched at the nickname. He glanced nervously at Damien and Joseph, but they looked unfazed.

 

"I'm a grown-ass man, Hugo. You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself." Joseph snorted softly, and Mat froze. "You told them." He said, mostly in disbelief. This was was a gigantic breach of trust, it should be upsetting him. Robert, Hugo, and Craig had revealed his biggest secret to two other people and he should be pissed off right now. But he wasn't, and he didn't really know why.

 

"I'm sorry. But- they're like you. Joseph and Damien are. I thought that this would help you. So, the five of us got to talking, and we figured that it would be a good idea if you had, like, a play date or something." Robert tilted his head to the side, his voice soft. "Please don't be mad. I just thought that you having a bigger support system would help."

 

Mat bit his lip, thinking it all over for a second. He could tell that Robert and Hugo weren't going to let this go and Damien was giving him a somewhat hopeful smile that he just couldn't say no to. "Okay. Carmensita is still- she's not home. I don't have to-" He felt his body tense up a little, shuffling where he stood. "Are we just going to go, or...?" He let his voice trail off and looked down at his feet. 

 

-

 

It was almost painfully easy for Mat to fall into headspace. The minute he stepped in the door, all of the tension suddenly drained out of his shoulders and he looked at his Daddy with wide eyes. "I'm hungry." He said simply, crossing his arms. Daddy looked at Papa and laughed a little. Papa pulled out his phone.

 

While Papa talked to Craig about pizza, Matty smiled sheepishly at Joseph and Damien. "Do you guys want to come and play? Papa just got me a bunch of race cars." He bit his lip, trying not to sound too hopeful. 

 

"Yeah! Come on, Joey." Damien took Joseph's (who was being far more quiet than usual) hand and went upstairs with Matty. "He gets really little, so I have to help our Daddy with him. And you have to be extra nice to him 'cause he gets sad really easy." Damien said seriously, sitting down on the floor while Mat got out his toys.

 

Joseph smiled shyly when Matty looked at him, hiding his face in Damien's shoulder. The didn't actually get very much time to play, because, by the time Mat had his tracks set up, it was almost time for them to eat.

 

Craig poked his head in through the doorway and smiled a little. "Time for you to get washed up for dinner. You can play afterwards, okay?" This drew a groan out of Damien, but he stood up regardless.

 

"I don't want to, Daddy!" He whined, crossing his arms over his chest and looking up at Craig with a frown as he passed him. Mat helped Joseph up and followed Damien to the bathroom. "Matty, where does Robert keep the soap?" 

 

"Uh- I think it's down under the sink." He got down and pulled out a fresh bar, placing it on the edge of the sink. "Papa says that he doesn't think that special soap for your hands is important, but he keeps it for when he has company over, 'cause he doesn't want to look dirty." He giggled, but Joey looked horrified.

 

"What about germs?! Daddy says that washing your hands is really important." The younger boy asked, eyes wide.

 

"Your Daddy is right. But Papa still washes his hands! He just uses regular old body wash." Matty poked his tongue out, pointing to the bottle on the edge of the bathtub. "Papa isn't gross!" Joey looked thoroughly relieved, taking the soap away from Damien and washing his hands quickly.

 

The three of them headed downstairs when they were done, joining their respective caregivers at the dining room table. Craig had pulled up a desk chair, and Mat's Daddy had a stool from the breakfast bar. Pizza had already been put out on a plate for each one of them, Mat's in particular piled up with cheese. 

 

As Matty looked around, he felt a weird feeling in his chest. He didn't quite know how to describe it. He'd felt like that before, for sure. The only way he could think to describe it would be as his heart expanding. He felt tears pooling up in his eyes, but he wasn't sad. He wiped them away before they could get too far down his cheeks, but Daddy still noticed.

 

"Baby, what's wrong?" His voice was soft and calm and it just made Matty want to cry more.

 

"Nothing- I'm not sad. Daddy, I don't know what's wrong." He felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulders and he buried his face in Daddy's chest, doing his best to just enjoy the moment with his Daddy and his Papa and his Uncle Craig and Damien and Joey.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Skateboards in*
> 
> What's crackalackin', mother forkers. I'm back after almost four full months with this piece of garbage chapter at midnight hahah kill me.

“Matty.” Joseph murmured, shaking Mat gently. “Matty, wake up.” He looked over to Damien and let out a soft whine. Damien sighed. He poked Mat's face and poked his face until he finally sat up. 

 

“What-” Matty's brows were furrowed and his lips downturned in a small frown. “Where's my Daddy?” Daddy was there when he went to sleep but the couch was cold where he'd been sitting. A whimper slipped past his lips and he looked at Damien with concern-filled eyes. 

 

“Your Daddy and Papa are upstairs in your Daddy’s bedroom with  _ our  _ Daddy. We don't know what they're doing. We were gonna go 'n spy on them.” Damien giggled, tugging on Matty's hand. “Come on!”

 

He stumbled along, still beyond tired. It hadn't even been that long since he started his nap, and Damien woke him up! That wasn't fair. Joseph was beside him, clinging to his sweatshirt while he held his teddy bear. 

 

“And I just… I feel like I mess up. All the time.” That was Papa's voice coming from under the door! It was different from how  Matty had ever heard him, though. His voice was shaky and it kind of sounded like he was going to cry. He'd never seen Papa cry before. “This needs a lot of trust and that doesn't come easy for him and I just feel like I've completely stomped all over it. I touch him when he doesn't want to be touched because I forget to ask or I just- I'm awful at this.”

 

“That's not true, Robert.” Daddy said, in the same sort of soft tone that he used when he was trying to calm Mat down during a panic attack. “Matty loves you. You're an excellent caregiver.”

 

“It's hard.” Craig's voice was quieter than he'd ever heard it before. “It was hard for us at first, but you have to learn to communicate. You have to ask him what he wants.”

 

“This is boring- Come on! Let's go play!” Damien's face lit up, tugging on Matty's sleeve. This time, he didn't get up. 

 

“No- Go without me. They're talkin’ about me and I wanna listen.” Mat mumbled, his voice barely audible. Damien shrugged and pulled Joseph up, running off somewhere that Mat didn't see. 

 

“We need to talk to him- I don't know if I can do this? I just get so damn scared.” Papa started crying after that and Matty heard vague shushing noises from Daddy. 

 

Matty stood up and opened the door, biting his lip. He couldn't listen to Papa be sad anymore. “Papa?” He whispered, moving toward the bed and sitting down. “Papa, is it okay if I hug you?” It was nice to ask before you touched someone. He knew that he didn't always like hugs. 

 

Papa didn't have to answer, because he was wrapping his arms around Marc and clinging to him like a lifeline.

 

“You're very good at being a Papa, Papa.” Matty made himself giggle, trying to cheer Papa up how Papa always did for him.

 

“Thanks, kiddo.” Papa let out a watery little chuckle, wiping under his eyes. “But I don't feel like that all the time. It's like your anxiety, you know? Like when you get really worried about things that aren't necessarily going to happen. You might think that I'm a good Papa, but that doesn't mean that I am.”

 

“But you  _ are _ . Just because you sometimes don't know what to do doesn’t mean that you’re not a good Papa. You know- If you weren’t a good Papa, you wouldn’t care if you were a good Papa or not.” Mat smiled a little, pressing his face into Robert’s chest. “I love you, Papa.”

 

“I love you too, Matty.” He felt a soft, contented little sigh leave Papa as he smiled down at him. “But who woke you up? You're usually out for at least a couple hours.”

 

“Damien and Joey. They wanted to come upstairs and they didn't want to leave me down there.” Mat shrugged, biting his lip.

 

“They weren't supposed to do that-” Craig began, standing up and going to the doorway. “Boys!” He called, his voice so loud that made Mat flinch away a little bit. Damien and Joey were upstairs soon enough, looking thoroughly irritated. “Hugo and Robert specifically told you not to wake Matty up.”

 

“We didn't want him to get scared if he woke up all by himself,” Joey whined, shaking his head. 

 

“He wouldn't have. He can sleep for a long time, and he needs to. He gets really stressed out and tired when he's big and he needs to use this time to recharge. Now he might not be able to go back to sleep.” Hugo sighed, rubbing his temples.

 

“Sorry,” Damien mumbled, looking at the ground. 

 

“It's alright. You didn't know any better.” Hugo gave Craig a pointed look and Craig left with Joey and Damien. 

 

“Sorry I made you sad, Papa.” Matty took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of Robert's cologne and trying to hold back tears. He was bad, he was a bad boy, and Papa didn't want-

 

“You have nothing to be sorry about, baby. You didn't do anything wrong. You hear me? Nothing.” Papa pulled back, looking down at Mat with a serious expression. “The only thing that makes me sad is that I don’t feel like the Papa that you deserve.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Daddy cleared his throat and smiled when Mat turned around to look at him. “Why don’t we try to get back to sleep? We could all use it, I’m sure. I’ll head downstairs and let Craig know what’s going on. The guest room should work just fine for the three of them?” He raised an eyebrow at Robert, who gave a little shrug.

 

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were all laid out on Papa’s bed with Matty sandwiched in the middle. “G’night.” Mat managed to get out while he was yawning, arms wrapped around Papa and his head laying on Daddy’s chest.

 

Their voices almost responded in perfect unison: “Goodnight, Matty.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I need even more sweet comments than usual because this chapter, in particular, gave me issues for some reason. Validate me Daddy.


End file.
